No one could have predicted that the 106 fishermen competing in Ray Scott's first tournament in 1967 would one day turn into a membership organization more than half a million strong. It would have been just as impossible to predict that the BASS newsletter, first distributed in 1968, would evolve into Bassmaster Magazine, the bible of today's bass fisherman — but it happened.

BASS, born and raised in Montgomery, Ala., was founded by Ray Scott with simple goals in mind: to create a credible and honorable tournament trail, to improve our environment by uniting and amplifying the voices of anglers and to secure a future for our youth. In the past four decades BASS has met all these goals and more.

It would take volumes to list the accomplishments of BASS over the years, but two may be most significant. In 1972, BASS initiated a "Don't Kill Your Catch" program that evolved into the modern "catch-and-release" ethic now practiced by nearly all bass anglers. In 1984, BASS lobbied Congress in support of the Wallop-Breaux amendment, which generates more than $200 million annually for state fisheries.

The first Classic, held on Lake Mead near Las Vegas, Nev., awarded a winner-take-all paycheck of $10,000 and was witnessed by a straggling handful of spectators. Today, tens of thousands of people cram into coliseums to watch the daily weigh-ins, and $1,194,500 is awarded to the anglers — $500,000 of which goes to the champion.